Matt’s Italy Produce Tour of Lucca and Surrounds September 2024
Lucca, Italy and surrounds.
Chefs/Restauranteur Matt Dillow and Matt Nielsen.
Spend 7 nights touring the picturesque Lucca, Cinque Terre, Pisa and many other beautiful places around our Villa in the hills of Lucca.
Cooking classes, visits to amazing locations, restaurants, markets, historic sights and more.
Tour 1: Saturday 31 August till Saturday 7 September, 2024 (1 spot left!)
Tour 2: Saturday 7 September till Saturday 14 September, 2024 (booked out)
Cost: $4000 per person
(single supplement $900)
For more information please e-mail info@mattsproduce.com.au or fill in the form below.
Itinerary
Day 1: Saturday 31 August/7 September
Meet at Lucca train station at 3pm. Check into the Villa. Welcome drinks by the pool at 5pm followed by dinner at the Villa cooked by the Matts. Make limoncello.
Dinner At Villa
Day 2: Sunday 1st/8th
Breakfast at the villa followed by our mid morning cooking class
followed by lunch with the food we have prepared.
After lunch we have free time before our visit Lucca in the afternoon to have a stroll around this beautiful historic town learning about this magical walled city.
In the evening we attend the Puccini concert Then back to the villa for a light dinner.
8am Breakfast: Classic Italian breakfast.
Lunch: Italian long lunch at Villa
Afternoon: leave the villa at 4:30pm for time in Lucca and concert at 7pm (1hour) then head home for dinner.
Dinner: Chicken cacciatore, soft polenta, pannacotta with fresh berries at villa
Day 3: Monday 2nd/9th
Day trip to Pisa with a guided walking tour followed by lunch at a typical Italian pizza restaurant, sightseeing and shopping opportunities. Then we head home via a large supermarket pit stop for some groceries. Spend the afternoon relaxing by the pool.
In the evening we head to fish and chips by the sea eating as the Italians do in Viareggio on the way we stop for sight seeing at Ponte Della Maddalena (Devils Bridge) a famous arched bridge built in 1500 AD.
Breakfast: at Villa
Leave Villa: 8:30, Pisa Tour 10am
Lunch: Pizza in Pisa
Return to Villa: 3pm
Leave Villa: 5:30pm for Devils bridge
Dinner: 8pm Fish and chips and gelato then return home
Day 4: Tuesday 3rd/10th
Today we visit the historic Livorno markets to buy seafood and fresh produce for our cooking class including the famous Florentine steak (Bistecca).
Back to the Villa for lunch then the afternoon involves an optional seafood cooking class followed by dinner indulging in our creations.
8am Breakfast
Leave Villa: 8:30am
Lunch: Light lunch at Villa
Dinner: Seafood dinner at Villa
Day 5: Wednesday 4th/11th
Relaxing morning with free time before a Gnocchi, and Risotto cooking class. After lunch we visit a local winery in the mountains behind the villa
Then it’s off to Lucca for an evening walk around the old wall followed by dinner at our friends restaurant.
8:30am Breakfast: At Villa
Lunch: At Villa
Leave Villa: 4pm for Lucca, pre dinner drinks at 6pm
Dinner: Osteria Da Pasquala’s Restaurant 7pm
Day 6: Thursday 5th/12th
Cinque Terre Day. Early 7:30am start so we can take in as much as possible of this amazing seaside town having lunch at the wonderful Belforte Restaurant. Drive home and dinner at Villa.
7:30am leave Villa
Breakfast: Fresh fruit and yoghurt, coffee stop on the way to La Spezia
Lunch: Belforte @ Vernazza
Dinner: At Villa
Day 7: Friday 6th/13th
Morning cooking class to prepare our final dishes for lunch.
Gala Italian long lunch feasting on Bistecca at the villa.
Evening trip to local Lucca winery with a light dinner at the vineyard.
8:30am Breakfast
9:30am Cooking class
Lunch 12:30pm: At Villa
Dinner: Fattoria Al Dotto leaving villa at 5:30pm
Day 8: Saturday 7th/14th
Farewell breakfast. We drop you off at your local hotel in Lucca or the train station at 10am.
Breakfast: Light Italian Break
Note: Breakfast is provided each morning at the Villa consisting of traditional Italian pastries, yoghurt, cereals, cured meats, cheeses & fresh fruit cereals, cured meats, cheeses & fresh fruit
Some of the dishes you will learn in our cooking classes: Focaccia, bread dough, potato gnocchi, confit rabbit, roasted capsicum, antipasti platters, stuffing and cooking of zucchini flowers, fresh pasta, Chicken Ballantine, seafood preparation, clean mussels, whole salt baked fish, fish stock, arancini, garlic prawns, salsa verde, ricotta, calamari, tomato pomodoro, egg yolk raviolo, cooking of the famous Bistecca, caprese salad, celeriac remolade, stuffed olives, tiramisu, confit garlic, semi-dried tomatoes, Cacciatore, fire seared capsicum, soft polenta, aioli, salsa verde, Sicilian orange cake, limoncello, caponata, bruschetta, pannacotta, soft polenta.
